Community Location Map
📍 Location: Deccan Plateau, Maharashtra / Karnataka / Telangana / Tamil Nadu, India
Overview & Cultural Background
The Dhangar and Kurba are prominent pastoral communities of the semi-arid Deccan Plateau in Peninsular India. Following centuries-old migratory circuits spanning hundreds of kilometers, shepherds move their herds between the dry interior plateaus after monsoon harvests and the coastal Western Ghats or agricultural river valleys during dry summers.
Pastoral migration plays a vital ecological role in Indian agrarian systems: farmers actively invite shepherds to pen their sheep overnight in harvested fields, exchanging grain, fodder, and money for the rich natural manure left by the herds. Dhangar and Kurba culture is deeply rooted in folk devotional traditions dedicated to deities such as Biroba and Khandoba.
Key facts
- Estimated Population: Over 3.5 million pastoralists across Western and Southern India
- Primary Livestock Herded: Deccani sheep, Nellore sheep, and Indigenous goat breeds
- ️ Contemporary Challenges: Rapid urban expansion and highway construction bisecting traditional transhumance corridors, fencing of common property rangelands, land conversion for commercial renewable energy projects, and lack of official administrative recognition.
Featured Films in the Festival Program
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Shepherds of the Deccan ⏱ 14 min | 🌍 India | 🎬 Ankit Pogula / LPPS